Business Insider understands that Harris will be identifying and spearheading new crypto projects for the bank in his role, rather than actively trading cryptocurrencies. Financial News reports that Harris will look at crypto custody services and how blockchain could work in JPMorgan's payments business.

JPMorgan CEO Jamie Dimon has been famously dismissive of cryptocurrencies and bitcoin specifically, calling it a fraud last September. More recently he told CNBC: "I'm open-minded to uses of cryptocurrencies if properly controlled and regulated."